Aeolian harp | wind harp

An Aeolian harp (also wind harp) is a musical instrument that is played by the wind. Named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind, the traditional Aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched lengthwise across two bridges. It is often placed in a slightly opened window where the wind can blow across the strings to produce sounds. The strings can be made of different materials (or thicknesses) and all be tuned to the same pitch, or identical strings can be tuned to different pitches. Besides being the only string instrument played solely by the wind, the Aeolian harp is also the only string instrument that plays solely harmonic frequencies.

The Aeolian harp – already known in the ancient world – was first described by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) in his book Phonurgia Nova (1673). It became popular as a household instrument during the Romantic era, and Aeolian harps are still hand-crafted today. Some are now made in the form of monumental metal sound sculptures located on the roof of a building or a windy hilltop.

Feel free to experiment with tuning but keep in mind that the best results are when you tune it in octaves with different gauges of strings.

There is no percussive aspect to the sound like that produced by a wind chime; rather crescendos and decrescendos of harmonic frequencies are played in rhythm to the winds.
Aeolian harp | wind harp
- 11 strings in 3 gauges, zither tuners.
Made of ash (top) cedar and plywood. Wooden hood for laminar air flow. (you can take it off and play it like normal harp or zither).
Dimensions: 62 x 17 x 13 (with hood) cm (24,4 x 6,7 x 5,1 inches)
Please remember that you need wind to hear it - you can use your windows to create whiff but the best effects are when used as on youtube video.